Support structure for a toilet cover unit

ABSTRACT

The slide support base 62 protrudes from the supporting wall 56 of the support recess 52 in the casing main body 14 and the tube-shaped support part 122 on the side of the toilet lid 100 is supported by and capable of sliding over its cylindrical surface 65a. The rotational pin 70 of the viscous resistance mechanism 80 protrudes from slide support base 62 and the rotational pin 70 fits in the fitting recess 132 on the side of the toilet lid 100. That is, the toilet lid 100 is pivotably supported to the casing main body 14 by two support structures. To remove the toilet lid 100 from the casing main body 14, the toilet lid is raised to the upright position and then applied with upward force to be pulled out. Since the opening 124 and the opening 136 are formed in the tube-shaped support part 122 and the fitting recess 132, the toilet lid 100 is removed from the casing main body through them.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a support structure for a toilet coverunit, by which the toilet cover unit that comprises a toilet seat and/ora toilet lid is supported while being raised or lowered freely againstthe toilet bowl main body.

2. Description of the Related Art

As the conventional support structure for toilet seats and/or toiletlids of this type, a device for cleaning facilitation by removal of thetoilet seat or toilet lid from the toilet bowl has been proposedpreviously; an example of the known art is in the Japanese PatentLaying-open Gazette 61-49041 (1986). FIG. 23 is a perspective viewdrawing showing a western-style toilet bowl with some part of it cutaway, and FIG. 24 is a lateral side drawing of and around a pivotableattachment part of the toilet seat and the toilet lid. In these figures,a western-style toilet bowl 500 is equipped with a sanitary washing unit504 which has a wash water nozzle 502 to spray washing water. A toiletseat 508 is attached to the inside recesses of the main body 506 of thesanitary washing unit 504 by a pivotable shaft 512 so as to pivotfreely. A toilet lid 520 is pivotably attached to the lateral surfacesof both ends of the pivotable shaft 512 by an elastically deformableattachment part 522. The attachment part 522 has a slide hole 526 whichsupports the pivotable shaft 512 so that it slides freely, and anopening 528 which is a cutaway matching the slide hole 526; the opening528 is pressed open wider through elastic deformation to allow thepivotable shaft 512 to support the slide hole 526. The toilet lid 520 isthus pivotably attached to the main body 506 and detachable from thepivotable shaft 512 through the opening 528.

The attachment structure of the toilet lid 520, however, adopts theconstruction where the attachment part 522 is opened wider by theelastic deformation of the opening 528; therefore, the pivotable shaft512 is difficult to be pressure-inserted into the opening 528 if theattachment part 522 is made excessively stiff for support whereas thestrength of the attachment part 522 is degraded if the detachability ofthe toilet lid 520 is facilitated. Therefore, the construction of theattachment part 522 cannot simultaneously solve the problems ofcompatibility between a solid support and the facilitatedattaching-detaching operations. Such problems as above also arise if thedetachable structure of the toilet lid 520 is applied to the toilet seat508.

A rotational-force resistance mechanism, where a resistant force isapplied to the toilet seat, or the toilet lid, during pivotal movementin the lowering direction so as to descend slowly, has been known. Thisrotational-force resistance mechanism can improve the operationalfacility because the toilet seat or the toilet lid descends slowly whenit is lowered.

However, no western-style toilet bowl which has both such arotational-force resistance mechanism and a structure where the toiletseat or the toilet lid is easily attached and detached has been known.

The rotational-force resistance mechanism has a structure where theresistant force is generated through transmitting an applied energy of aspring or viscous resistance to the pivotable shaft; therefore, therehas been a problem that trouble tends to be caused by the deformation ofthe parts such as the pivotable shaft if a large external force isapplied to the toilet seat or the toilet lid and then transmitted to thepivotable shaft at the time of conveyance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is purposed to provide a support structure for atoilet cover unit, at least inclusive of the toilet seat or a toiletlid, where the toilet cover unit is supported against the support mainbody secured to the toilet bowl main body with a resistant force appliedto the pivotal movement in the lowering direction and with facilitatedattaching-detaching performances.

The toilet cover unit related to the present invention, such as a toiletseat and/or a toilet lid, is supported against the support main bodywith a rotatable support component and a support receiving part inbetween so as to be pivoted freely with the shaft core as the pivotingaxis. The rotatable support component is linked to a rotational-forceresistance device. The rotational-force resistance device applies aresistant force in the lowering direction as for the toilet cover unit;and thus the toilet cover unit is lowered slowly to close.

To remove the toilet cover unit from the support main body, the toiletcover unit is positioned at a prescribed angle and then applied with aforce to pull it at the prescribed angle. Since the engagement of therotatable support component and the support receiving part which existbetween the toilet cover unit and the support main body can be engagedor disengaged when they are positioned at the prescribed angle, thetoilet cover unit is easily removed from the support main body.

Removability of the toilet cover unit from the support main body isconvenient when cleaning the toilet cover unit and the toilet bowl mainbody and is also effective in the following way. That is, although thetoilet cover unit is linked to the rotational-force resistance device byway of the rotatable support component, if an impact is applied to thetoilet cover unit during conveyance or any other occasion, the externalforce is transmitted to the rotational-force resistance device and willcause trouble. The present invention, however, where the rotatablesupport component and the support receiving part are quickly engaged anddisengaged, can prevent impact to the rotational-force resistance deviceby removing the toilet cover unit from the support main body.

Besides the rotatable support component and the support receiving part,a hinge unit may be inserted between the support main body and thetoilet cover unit. The hinge unit will prevent a torsional force or anyother external force and an overload to be applied to therotational-force resistance device linked to the rotatable supportcomponent by holding the toilet cover unit so as to allow free pivotalmovement against the support main body. Since the hinge unit willsimultaneously release the engagement state of the support main body andthe toilet cover unit when the toilet cover unit is positioned at theprescribed angle, in other words, at the position where the rotatablesupport component and the support receiving part become engaged ordisengaged, no troublesome operations are required when removing thetoilet cover unit from the support main body.

Moreover, a preferred form of the hinge unit may be constructed with afixed-side support component and a supporting tube part. The fixed-sidesupport component is of a rectangular shape with a round top and bottomwhich comprises a cylindrical surface, and the cylindrical surfacepivotably supports the supporting tube part. A cutaway part is formed inthe supporting tube part, and the engagement of the fixed-sidesupporting component and the supporting tube part is disengaged when thecutaway part is positioned to the narrow part of the rectangular shapewith a round top and bottom.

A lock mechanism may also be located between the toilet cover unit andthe support main body. The lock mechanism has a lock engagement partwhich is positioned between the toilet cover unit and the support mainbody, which prevents the toilet cover unit from detached from thesupport main body. The lock engagement part is released from the stateexisting between the toilet cover unit and the support main body by anoperation at the lock operation part. Therefore, since the toilet coverunit cannot be removed from the support main body without operation ofthe lock operation part of the lock mechanism, the inconvenience of thetoilet cover unit becoming removed unintentionally is avoided.

It is desirable that the lock operation part of the lock mechanism belocated at a place at which manual operation is possible from theoutside when the toilet cover unit is positioned at the prescribed angleand which is hidden behind the toilet cover unit when the toilet coverunit is not positioned at the prescribed angle. Since this disablesoperation from the outside when the toilet cover unit is not raised tothe prescribed angle, unintended operation of the lock mechanism isprevented and the toilet cover unit is not removed from the support mainbody by the external force applied to the toilet cover unit. Theprescribed angle at which the toilet cover unit can be removed from thesupport main body is not specifically designated, but the followingpreferable effects are available when it is set to approximately 90degrees which is the state where the toilet cover unit is raised uprightto the toilet bowl main body. That is, when the toilet cover unit is inthe almost upright state to the toilet bowl main body, the toilet coverunit is in the position where a large external force is less frequentlyapplied if compared with the state where a person is seated, and thusunintended disconnection from the support main body is prevented.

Moreover, by the interlinkage structure of the toilet seat and thetoilet lids the toilet seat and the toilet lid are simultaneouslyattached to or detached from the support main body, but the toilet lidwhich is linked to the toilet seat will not be easily disconnected whilea person is seated on the toilet seat.

At least either of the toilet seat and the toilet lid is involved as thetoilet cover unit and, if both of them are involved, it is preferable toadopt the structure as shown below. That is, where as a first resistantsupport device is inserted between the toilet seat and the support mainbody, a second resistant support device is also inserted between them.The first and the second resistant support devices are placed on thesame shaft core. Thus, the toilet seat and the toilet lid pivot with thesame shaft core as pivoting axis and, together with this, a resistantforce is applied to the pivotal movement in the descending direction.Since the shaft core is the same, both the toilet seat and the toiletlid are removed simultaneously at the prescribed angle.

As for the first and the second resistant support devices, if theirresistant forces are set so that the toilet lid pivoting speed generatedby the resistant force of the second resistant support device is slowerthan the toilet seat pivoting speed generated by the resistant force ofthe first resistant support device, an overload is not applied to thesecond resistant support device when the toilet seat and the toilet lidare pivoted simultaneously in the descending direction because thedescending direction force of the toilet lid is not applied to thetoilet seat.

The means for applying the resistant force of the rotational-forceresistant device may be a single use or the combined use of viscousresistance, springs and other devices; and the following additionaleffect results from the use of springs. That is, in an application ofsprings where the applied energy is stored in the state that the toiletlid is fully lowered to the toilet bowl main body, trouble and adecrease in the service life are caused by the excessive impact appliedto the springs during conveyance Therefore, the applied energy of thesprings is relieved if the toilet cover unit is removed from the supportmain unit, and thus no impact is applied to the springs duringconveyance and their service life will not be decreased.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view drawing of a sanitary washing unit whichcomprises a toilet lid support structure related to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan of the sanitary washing unit.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view drawing of a state where the toilet seat isremoved from the casing main body.

FIG. 4 is a sectional drawing showing a toilet lid support structure anda viscous resistance mechanism.

FIG. 5 is an illustrative drawing showing the state where the toilet lidin FIG. 4 is raised to the upright position.

FIG. 6 is an illustrative drawing showing the state where the toilet lidin FIG. 5 is removed.

FIG. 7 is an illustrative drawing showing the state where the toilet lidis fully lowered as one action of the toilet lid support structure.

FIG. 8 is an illustrative drawing showing the state where the toilet lidis to be removed as one action of the toilet lid support structure.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view drawing of a principal part of a sanitarywashing unit which comprises a toilet seat/toilet lid support structurerelated to an alternative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a plan of the sanitary washing unit.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view drawing showing the support structurelocated on the side the casing main body.

FIG. 12 is an illustrative drawing showing the state where the toiletseat and the toilet lid are removed.

FIG. 13 is a sectional drawing showing a principal part along the lineB--B in FIG. 10.

FIG. 14 is a sectional drawing showing the state where the toilet seatand the toilet lid in FIG. 13 are raised to the upright position.

FIG. 15 is a sectional drawing showing the state where the toilet seatand the toilet lid in FIG. 14 are removed.

FIG. 16 is a sectional drawing along the line B--B in FIG. 10.

FIG. 17 is an illustrative drawing showing the state where the toiletseat is fully lowered and the toilet lid is raised to the uprightposition as one action of the toilet seat/toilet lid support structure.

FIG. 18 is an illustrative drawing showing the state where the toiletseat and the toilet lid are raised to the upright position as the nextaction of FIG. 17.

FIG. 19 is an illustrative drawing showing the state where the toiletseat and the toilet lid are removed after the state in FIG. 18.

FIG. 20 is a sectional view of a hinge mechanism in an alternativelocation which links the toilet lid and the toilet seat so as to bepivoted freely.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view drawing showing the support structurelocated on the side a casing main body related to another alternativeembodiment.

FIG. 22 is an illustrative drawing showing the state where the toiletseat and other units related to the alternative embodiment are removed.

FIG. 23 is an external view drawing showing a conventional western-styletoilet bowl.

FIG. 24 is an illustrative drawing showing a conventional toilet lidsupport structure.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

For further elucidation of the construction and effects of the presentinvention described above, the following paragraphs describe thepreferred embodiments of the invention. FIG. 1 is an external viewdrawing of a sanitary washing unit mounted with a toilet cover unit. Thetoilet cover unit includes a toilet set or a toilet lid. The toilet lidand the toilet seat each also being referred to as a toilet cover plate.FIG. 2 is its plan.

The entire construction of a sanitary washing unit 10 shown in FIG. 1 isdescribed below first. This sanitary washing unit 10 is to be mounted ona western-style toilet bowl (not shown in the figure), which comprises acasing main body 14, a water temperature control device which is storedinside the casing main body 14 and designed for heating the washingwater and discharging the water at a setup temperature (not shown in thefigure), a washing nozzle unit which sprays washing water heated to thesetup temperature by the water temperature control device toward aprivate part, and an operation part.

A toilet lid 100 is detachably attached to the casing main body 14 byway of a toilet lid support mechanism 30. FIG. 3 is a perspective viewdrawing showing a state where the toilet lid 100 is removed from thecasing main body 14. The toilet lid support mechanism 30 comprises asupporting mechanism 50 on the side of the casing main body 14 and asupport receiving mechanism 120 on the side of the toilet lid 100. Thesupporting mechanism 50 is located in a support recess 52 at the centerfront of the casing main body 14 and the main component is a main bodysupporting part 60, each of which protrudes from a supporting wall 56 or57 of the support recess 52 so as to face each other. Although FIG. 3shows the main body supporting part 60 formed on the supporting wall 56only, the main body supporting part on the supporting wall 57 is of thesame construction as the supporting part 60 and thus the description iseliminated.

The main body supporting part 60 comprises a slide support base 62 and arotational pin 70 which protrudes from the slide support base 62. Theslide support base 62 is formed with a facing surface 64 and outersurfaces 65, and the outer surfaces 65 which are the top and bottomcylindrical surfaces 65a and both the vertical surfaces 65b form a shapewhich has a rectangular section with a round top and bottom. Therotational pin 70 protrudes from the facing surface 64. The rotationalpin 70 is of a downsized similar figure of the slide support base 62,which composes a part of the viscous resistance mechanism 80 (FIG. 4)which is built inside the casing main body 14 and the main bodysupporting part 60.

The article on the Japanese Utility Model Laying-open Gazette H4-83100(1992) can be applied to for the viscous resistance mechanism 80; theconstruction is briefly described below: FIG. 4 is a sectional drawingshowing the area around the viscous resistance mechanism 80 along theline A--A in FIG. 2. As FIG. 4 shows, the viscous resistance mechanism80 is a mechanism where the rotational pin 70 is rotated slowly in thelowering direction by the viscous resistance and the spring resistance.

The viscous resistance mechanism 80 comprises a casing 84, a rotator 85a part of which is pivotably supported by the bottom of the casing 84, ajoint 87 which the rotational pin 70 is inserted into and supported byand which is pivotably supported by the other end of the rotator 85, acam 88 which is engaged with an end face of the joint 87, a transmitter89 which the joint 87 is inserted into, a coil spring 86 which is woundaround the outer round surface of the joint 87 and which links the cam88 and the transmitter 89, a clutch spring 90 which is movably joinedwith the transmitter 89 but secured to the same transmitter 89 by an endof it, and a shoe 91 which is inserted between the clutch spring 90 andthe rotator 85 and secured by the rotator 85. A viscous material V isfilled in the space between the inner round surface of the casing 84 andthe outer round surface of the rotator 85.

The cam 88 engages the joint 87 but in a prescribed angle range, forexample in the 30 degrees from the fully raised position of the toiletlid 100. The transmitter 89 is a tube-shaped component and into whichthe joint 87 is inserted so as to rotate freely. The shoe 91 rotateswith the rotator 85 as a single unit when a frictional rotary force isreceived from the clutch spring 90. The coil spring 86 is secured by thecam 88 at an end of it and secured by the transmitter 89 at the otherend to transmit the rotary force to the cam 88 to the transmitter 89,and energy is applied in the winding direction when the toilet lid 100is fully lowered.

The next paragraphs describe the actions of the viscous resistancemechanism 80.

When the toilet lid 100 is fully lowered, the coil spring 86 is in thestate where it is wound up and applied with energy. The clutch spring 90is in the retracted state where its inner round surface is wound so asto contact the outer round surface of the transmitter 89 and isseparated from the inner round surface of the shoe 91. Therefore, withthe clutch spring 90 isolated from the rotator 85, the rotational pin70, the joint 87 and the transmitter 89 are in the free state as for therotator 85.

When a force in the upright position direction is given in the statewhere the toilet lid 100 is fully lowered, the rotational pin 70 rotateswith the joint as a single unit. The rotational force of the joint 87 isapplied by way of the cam 88 to the coil spring 86 in the untwistingdirection, and this action unwinds the coil spring 86 and simultaneouslyrotates the transmitter in the same direction.

Thus following the rotation of the transmitter 89, the outer diameter ofthe clutch spring 90 becomes increased by receiving its unwinding force.When the toilet lid is raised to the upright position, the outer roundsurface of the clutch spring becomes pressed to the inner round surfaceof the shoe 91 and then the transmitter 89 is linked with the rotator85.

In the process of raising the toilet lid 100 to the upright position,since the clutch spring 90 is separated from the rotator 85, therotational force of the rotational pin 70 is not transmitted to therotator 85 by way of the cam 88, the coil spring 86 and the transmitter89 and thus the side of the rotational pin 70 is free from theresistance of the viscous agent V. Consequently, the resistant force issmall when the toilet lid 100 is raised to the upright position. Whenthe toilet lid 100 is fully lowered, since the coil spring 86 is woundand applied with energy, the pivotal force of the toilet lid 100, beingapplied so as to unwind in the direction opposite to the windingdirection, does not become a large resistance at the time of raising thetoilet lid 100.

When the toilet lid 100 is lowered from the upright positions thetransmitter 89 does not rotate until the prescribed angle of the toiletlid (for example, 30 degrees) since the joint 87 is not engaged by 88and thus the rotational force is not transmitted to the side of the coilspring 86. Therefore, the toilet lid 100 pivots quickly withoutresistance until the prescribed angle is reached When the toilet lid islowered beyond the prescribed angle (30 degrees), the transmitter 89rotates by way of the rotational pin 70, the joint 87, the cam and thecoil spring 86. By the rotation of the transmitter 89, the clutch spring90 also rotates as a single unit. Since the clutch spring 90 contactsthe inner round surface of the shoe 91, the rotation of the transmitter89 is transmitted to the rotator 85. Thus the rotator 85 rotates withthe transmitter 89 and the viscous resistance of the viscous agent Venclosed in the space between the rotator 85 and the casing 84 effectsthe transmitter and then effects the rotational pin 70 by way of thecoil spring 86, the cam 88 and the joint 87. The viscous resistance atthe rotational pin 70 is applied to the toilet lid 100 and effects aresistant force when the toilet lid is lowered.

On the other hand, the coil spring 86 is applied with a twisting forcein the winding direction according to the rotation of the transmitter89. The twisting force applied to the coil spring 86 effects a resistantforce for the rotational pin 70 and eventually for the toilet lid 100.

Therefore, the toilet lid 100 pivots smoothly without a resistant forceworking in the ascending direction but is lowered slowly in thedescending direction when the toilet lid 100 is released from a hand.

The following paragraphs describe the support receiving mechanism 120built into the toilet lid 100.

As FIG. 3 shows, the support receiving mechanism 120 is formed in thesame construction on each lateral side of the lid support base 102 ofthe toilet lid 100. The support receiving mechanism 120 comprises atube-shaped support part 122. The tube-shaped support part 122 is formedin a diameter slightly larger than the longitudinal length of thecylindrical surface 65a of the slide support base 62 and is formed in ashape the section of which is a circle rotatably supported over thecylindrical surface 65a. At the lower end of the tube-shaped supportpart 122 in the figure, an opening 124 is formed as a cutaway slightlywider than the width of the support mechanism 50, that is the widthbetween the two vertical surfaces 65b.

A fitting recess 132 is formed at approximately the center of the bottomsurface of the support mechanism. The fitting recess 132 is formed in anarrow groove with an opening 136 at one end. The opening 136 is formedin the position above center of the opening 124.

The ascending and descending actions of the toilet lid 100 by the toiletlid support mechanism 30 are explained with use of FIGS. 5 to 8. FIG. 5shows the state where the toilet lid 100 in FIG. 4 is raised and FIG. 6shows the state where the toilet lid 100 is pulled upwards; FIG. 7 showsthe state where the toilet lid 100 is fully lowered and FIG. 8 shows thestate where the toilet lid 100 is raised upright.

In the state in FIG. 7, the tube-shaped support part 122 of the supportreceiving mechanism 120 is supported by the cylindrical surface 65a ofthe slide support base 62 and the fitting recess 132 fits the rotationalpin 70; therefore, the tube-shaped support part 122 slides around thecylindrical surface 65a of the slide support base 62 following thepivotal action of the toilet lid 100 and the rotational pin 70 fitted tothe fitting recess 132 simultaneously rotates on receiving the resistantforce by the viscous resistance mechanism 80 in the lowering direction.

The toilet lid 100 is thus pivoted smoothly by a resistant force in thelowering direction effected by the rotation of the rotational pin 70while being securely supported in the contact state by the tube-shapedsupport part 122 and the cylindrical surface 65a. That is, the toiletlid 100 is raised and lowered securely and smoothly by the two supportstructures in the toilet lid support mechanism.

To remove the toilet lid 100 from the casing main body 14, as shown inFIGS. 5 to 8, the toilet lid 100 is held by hand and raised upright andthen pulled out in the direction of the arrow as in FIG. 6. That is, thetube-shaped support part 122 can be pulled out since the opening 124 isaligned with the position of the vertical surface 65b of the slidesupport base 62, and the rotational pin 70 can be pulled out anytimethrough the opening 136 since it is rotated while being fitted to thefitting recess 132. Therefore, the support receiving mechanism 120 isreleased from the main body support part 60 in the support state in theupright position of the toilet lid 100. That is, when the toilet lid 100is raised to the upright position and pulled out in the prescribeddirection, the toilet lid 100 is removed from the casing main body 14easily. After the removal of the toilet lid 100 from the casing mainbody 14, cleaning operations can be easily carried out in all areas.

The structure is highly durable since the tube-shaped support part 122and the other parts are not elastically deformed for attaching-detachingthe toilet lid as by the conventional art.

The detachability of the toilet lid 100 from the casing main body 14 isnot only convenient when cleaning the toilet lid 100, the casing mainbody 14 and the toilet bowl main body 202 but is also merited with thefollowing effects. That is, the toilet lid 100 is linked with theviscous resistance mechanism 80 by way of the rotational pin 70 buttrouble can be caused by an external force transmitted to the viscousresistance mechanism 80 when an impact is applied to the toilet lid 100during conveyance. However, since engagement and disengagement isfacilitated by the rotational pin 70 and the fitting recess 132, impacton the viscous resistant mechanism 80 is prevented by removal of thetoilet lid 100 from the casing main body 14 during conveyance.

Besides the rotational pin 70 and the fitting recess 132 between thecasing main body 14 and the toilet lid 100, support by the slide supportbase 62 and the tube-shaped support part 122 also prevents any twistingforce and other external forces and an overload on the viscousresistance mechanism 80 which is linked to the rotational pin 70.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described abovebut it is possible for it to be embodied in various modes within itsscope, including the following variations:

(1) The support structure for the casing main body 14 and the toilet lid100 is explained as for the embodiment described above but, not limitedto this, the structure described above may be applied to the toilet seat16.

(2) The support mechanism 50 is located on the side of the casing mainbody 14 and the support receiving mechanism 120 is located on the sideof the toilet lid 100 in the embodiment described above but, not limitedto this, the locations may be vice versa.

The following paragraphs describe a support structure for the toiletseat and lid related to an alternative embodiment. FIG. 9 is aperspective view drawing of a part of a sanitary washing unit 210mounted on a toilet bowl main body 202 which shows the state where atoilet seat 230 and a toilet lid 240 are removed. FIG. 10 is a plan ofthe sanitary washing unit 210.

The sanitary washing unit 210 comprises a casing main body 214, and thetoilet seat 230 and the toilet lid 240 are pivotably and detachablyattached to the casing main body 214 by way of hinge mechanisms 220R/L(the figure shows one of the pair) on the same shaft core. The hingemechanism 220L is constructed with a support mechanism 250 on the sideof the casing main body 214 and a support receiving mechanism 290 on theside of the toilet seat 230 and the toilet lid 240. The supportmechanism 250 is located, as shown by magnification in FIG. 11, in asupport recess 252 (the figure shows one of the pair) on either side ofthe casing main body 214, and is mainly constructed with a main bodysupport part 260 which protrudes from a supporting wall 256 of a supportrecess 252 in the direction of the shaft core.

The main body support part 260 comprises a slide support base 262, andthe slide support base 262 is formed of a facing surface 264 and outersurfaces 265. The outer surfaces 265 which are the top and bottomcylindrical surfaces 265a and both the vertical surfaces 265b form ashape which has a rectangular section with a round top and bottom. Afixed projection 270 protrudes from the facing surface 264. The fixedprojection 270 is of a downsized shape of the slide support base 262.Another unit of the main body support part 260 is located on thesupporting wall which corresponds to the support recess on the otherside not shown in the figure but its description is eliminated since thestructure is the same.

A support receiving mechanism 290 on the side of the toilet seat 230 andthe toilet lid 240 is described below. FIG. 12 is an external viewdrawing showing a part of the hinge mechanism 220L with the toilet seat230 and the toilet lid 240 removed; FIG. 13 is a drawing along the lineB--B in FIG. 10 with some parts cut out; and FIG. 14 is a drawingshowing the state where the toilet seat 230 and the toilet lid 240 inFIG. 13 are raised to the upright position.

Each of the support receiving mechanisms 290 is located on either sideof the end part of the toilet seat 230 and the toilet lid 240 andcomprises a round support part 232 formed at either end part of thetoilet seat 230. The round support part 232 is formed in a shape, asection of which is round and the diameter of which is slightly largerthan the longitudinal length of the cylindrical surface 265a of theslide support base 262, and is rotatably supported by the top and bottomcylindrical surface 265a. A part of the round support part 232 is cutaway to form an opening 232a.

As FIGS. 13 and 14 show, a seat-side storage space 233 is formed so asto continue to the round support part 232 of the toilet seat 230. Afirst viscous resistance mechanism 300 is stored in the seat-sidestorage space 233. The first viscous resistance mechanism 300 comprisesa support base 301 that has a fitting recess 301a to which the fixedprojection 270 is fitted. The fitting recess 301a is formed as a narrowgroove with an opening 301b at one end. The opening 301b is formed in aposition to align with the center part of the opening 232a. The fittingrecess 301a is constructed so that the fixed projection 270 isdetachably attached through the opening 301b.

As FIG. 16 shows, the first viscous resistance mechanism 300 comprisesan outer cylindrical viscous case 303 which is rotatably inserted overthe support base 301, a viscous resistance space 307 which is formedbetween the support base 301 and the outer cylindrical viscous case 303and partitioned by a one-way valve 306, a viscous material 308 which isfilled in the viscous resistance space 307, and a linkage device 309which engages the outer cylindrical viscous case 303 with the inner wallof the seat-side storage space 233 of the toilet seat 230. The linkagedevice 309 utilizes a snap-fit structure, and the engagement with theelement on the side of the toilet seat 230 is released by elasticdeformation when a flat-end screw driver or similar tool is insertedthrough a through-hole 334 which runs through the seat-side storagespace 233. This allows the first viscous resistance mechanism 300 to bepulled out of the seat-side storage space 233.

As FIG. 12 shows, the outer cylindrical viscous case 303 is joined so asto rotate with the toilet seat 230 as a single unit by a key joint part304 which is formed as a projection from the outer cylindrical viscouscase 303. The structure of the first viscous resistance mechanism 300allows the outer cylindrical viscous case 303 to rotate around thesupport base 301 when the toilet seat 230 is raised or lowered, and thusthe toilet seat 230 pivots slowly at this point with theviscous-resistant force of the viscous material 308.

Besides this, as FIG. 13 shows, a bottom-located hole 341 of the toiletlid 240 is pivotably supported by the outer cylindrical viscous case 303of the first viscous resistance mechanism 300. Therefore, the toilet lid240 pivots with the outer cylindrical viscous case 303 as its axis butwithout receiving the viscous-resistant force from the first viscousresistance mechanism 300 since the outer cylindrical viscous case 303and the bottom-located hole 341 are not linked.

As FIG. 20 shows, a second viscous resistance mechanism 400, which is apart of the other hinge mechanism 220R, is located between the toiletseat 230 and the toilet lid 240 almost in the same configuration as thefirst viscous resistance mechanism 300 but the configuration isdifferent from the first viscous resistance mechanism 300 in thefollowing. That is, the second viscous resistance mechanism 400 isconstructed so that a key joint part 404 which is formed as a projectionfrom an outer cylindrical viscous case 403 will engage a recess 240a onthe side of the toilet lid 240. The outer cylindrical viscous case 403runs through the seat-side storage space 233 of the toilet seat 230 andis not linked to the toilet seat 230 by such a linkage device as by thesnap-fit structure. Therefore, pivotal movement of the toilet seat 230will not rotate the outer cylindrical viscous case 403 but the pivotalmovement of the toilet lid 240 will rotates the outer-cylindricalviscous case 403 and then the viscous-resistant force of the viscousmaterial will effect the toilet lid 240. Thus the toilet lid 240 alonecan be pivoted slowly in the descending direction even when the toiletseat 230 is fully lowered.

The second viscous resistance mechanism 400 is also constructed so as tobe removed separately from the toilet seat 230 or other units. That is,after the toilet seat 230 and the toilet lid 240 are removed from thecasing main body 214 as described below, the second viscous resistancemechanism 400 can be pulled out without being hindered by the key jointpart 404, as FIG. 20 shows, since the key joint part 404 aligns with akey release recess 233a of the seat-side storage space 233 in the statewhere the toilet seat 230 and the toilet lid 240 are opened apart to aright angled position. When the toilet seat 230 and the toilet lid 240are fully closed together, the second viscous resistance mechanism 400cannot be pulled out with the key joint part 404 touching the side ofthe toilet lid 240 since the key joint part 404 does not align with thekey release recess 233a of the seat-side storage space 233. Therefore,as described below, the second viscous resistance mechanism 400 cannotbe pulled out by mistake when both the toilet seat 230 and the toiletlid 240 are in the state where they are removed while being raised tothe upright position; and besides this, it cannot be pulled out withoutopening apart the toilet seat 230 and the toilet lid 240 to the rightangled position.

With reference to FIGS. 17 and 18, the raising and lowering operationsof the toilet seat 230 and the toilet lid 240 by way of the hingemechanism 220L are described below: FIG. 17 shows the state where thetoilet seat 230 is fully lowered with the toilet lid 240 being raised tothe upright position and FIG. 18 shows the state where the toilet seat230 and the toilet lid 240 are raised almost to the upright position.

In the state shown in FIG. 17, the round support part 232 of the toiletseat 230 is supported on the cylindrical surface 265a of the slidesupport base 262 and the fixed projection 270 fits in the fitting recess301a; therefore the round support part 232 slides over the cylindricalsurface 265a of the slide support base 262 following the raising andlowering operations of the toilet seat 230 and simultaneously the outercylindrical viscous case 303 of the first viscous resistance mechanism300 which is unified with the toilet seat 230 rotates while having aviscous-resistant force on the support base 301.

Therefore, the toilet seat 230 is raised and lowered smoothly with theviscous-resistant force of the first viscous resistance mechanism 300while being supported by the fixed projection 270 and the fitting recess301a of the support base 301 and being also securely supported in thecontact state by the round support part 232 and the cylindrical surface265a of the slide support base 262. That is, the toilet seat 230 israised and lowered smoothly without rattling against the slide supportbase 262 of the casing main body 214 by the two support structures inthe hinge mechanisms 220L and 220R.

As FIG. 16 shows, the hinge mechanism 220L is equipped with a lockmechanism 320 for locking and unlocking the toilet seat 230 and thetoilet lid 240 securely to and from the casing main body 214. The lockmechanism 320 comprises a lock engagement element 322 which is fitted byinsertion into the fitting insertion hole 321 which is formed in theslide support base 262, a holder component 323 which holds the lockengagement element 322, an unlock button 324 which is located in linkagewith the holder component 323, and a spring 326 which is supported bythe casing main body 214 at one end and applying energy in contact withthe holder component 323 at the other end. The tip 322a of the lockengagement element 322 is thrust into the engagement recess 327 formedin the support base 301 of the first viscous resistance mechanism 300 sothat it can advance and retract.

When the unlock button 324 is pressed in the direction of the arrow inthis configuration of the lock mechanism 320, the holder component 323moves together with the unlock button 324 as a single body against theapplied energy in the spring 326. The lock engagement element 322secured to the holder component 323 retracts by this operation andbecomes disengaged from the engagement recess 327 in the support base301. When the unlock button 324 is released, the tip 322a of the lockengagement element 322 is thrust into the engagement recess 327 by theapplied energy of the spring 326 to prevent the toilet seat 230 fromcoming out of the casing main body 214.

To remove the toilet seat 230 and the toilet lid 240 from the casingmain body 214 by way of the hinge mechanism 220L, as FIGS. 14 to 18 showthe unlock button 324 is pressed while the toilet seat 230 and thetoilet lid 240 are held by hand and raised to the upright position. Thatis, the toilet seat 230 can be pulled out through the opening 232a whichis aligned with the width between the vertical surfaces 265b of theslide support base 262 when in the upright position and the fixedprojection 270 can be pulled out any time through the opening 301b inthe fitting recess 301a. That is, when the toilet seat 230 and thetoilet lid 240 are in the upright position, the toilet seat 230 is inthe state where support for the main body support part 260 can bereleased. Besides this, when the unlock button 324 is pressed, the tip322a of the lock engagement element 322 comes out of the fitting recess301a against the spring force by way of the holder component 323.

As in FIGS. 15 to 19, if the toilet seat 230 and the toilet lid 240 arepulled out in this state the toilet seat 230 and the toilet lid 240 areeasily removed from the casing main body 214. The toilet seat 230 andthe toilet lid 240 removed from the casing main body 214 are easilycleaned in all areas To attach the toilet seat 230 and the toilet lid240 to the casing main body 214, the toilet seat 230 and the toilet lid240 are held in the same upright position as the state for removal andbrought down while the opening 232a of the round support part 232 isaligned with the slide support base 262. Through this operation, thelock engagement element 322 is pressed by the end part of the supportbase 301, pushed inward against the applied energy of the spring 326 andthen supported in the former state as in FIG. 14. Therefore, theoperation of the unlock button 324 of the lock mechanism 320 is notneeded for the attaching of the toilet seat 230 and the toilet lid 240.

The embodiment described above allows the toilet seat 230 and the toiletlid 240 to be supported pivotably by the casing main body 214 by way ofthe hinge mechanism 220L and removal from the casing main body 214 isprevented if the unlock button 324 of the lock mechanism 320 is notoperated. Thus the toilet seat 230 and the toilet lid 240 will notbecome disconnected unintentionally by an external force at the time ofnormal usage but the toilet seat 230 and the toilet lid 240 are quicklyremoved by a simple operation of pressing the unlock button 324 whenrequired.

The durability is excellent because no elastic deformation of theopening 528 or other parts is required for attaching and detaching thetoilet seat 230 and the toilet lid 240 as the conventional art.

This detachability of the toilet seat 230 and the toilet lid 240 fromthe casing main body 214 is convenient for the cleaning of the toiletseat 230, the toilet lid 240 and the toilet bowl main body 202 and iseffective in the following way. That is, the toilet seat 230 and thetoilet lid 240 are linked to the first viscous resistance mechanism 300,and trouble can be caused by an external force transmitted to the firstviscous resistance mechanism 300 when an impact is applied to the toiletseat 230 and the toilet lid 240 during conveyance or on other occasions.As a resolution to such a problem, the removal of the toilet seat 230and the toilet lid 240 from the casing main body 214 can prevent impacton the first viscous resistance mechanism 300 during conveyance.

The unlock button 324 of the lock mechanism 320 is located under theslide support base 262 and can be reached from the outside for manualoperation when the toilet seat 230 and the toilet lid 240 are raised tothe upright position but is hidden behind the toilet seat 230 and thetoilet lid 240 when the toilet seat 230 and the toilet lid 240 arelowered to cover the toilet bowl main body 202. Therefore, the unlockbutton 324 cannot be operated by mistake when the toilet seat 230 andthe toilet lid 240 are not raised upright, and the toilet seat 230 andthe toilet lid 240 will not come out of the casing main body 214 even ifan external force is applied.

Moreover, the position where the toilet seat 230 and the toilet lid 240can be removed from the casing main body 214 is approximately 90 degreeswhere the toilet seat 230 and the toilet lid 240 are raised upright tothe toilet bowl main body 202; therefore, the toilet seat 230 and thetoilet lid 240 are not disengaged from the casing main body 214 sincethe large external force of a person is difficult to be applied.

The toilet seat 230 and the toilet lid 240 which are linked to eachother and pivotably supported with the first and the second viscousresistance mechanisms 300 and 400 as the axes can be attached to andremoved from the casing main body 214 simultaneously only, and thetoilet lid 240, which is linked with the toilet seat 230, cannot beeasily disconnected by an external force when a person is seated on thetoilet seat 230.

The resistant forces of the first and the second viscous resistancemechanisms 300 and 400 should be set so that the pivotal speed of thetoilet lid 240 which is generated by the resistant force of the secondviscous resistance mechanism 400 is slower than the pivotal speed of thetoilet seat 230 which is generated by the resistant force of the firstviscous resistance mechanism 300. Since this setting prevents the forceof the toilet lid 240 in the descending direction from being applied tothe toilet seat 230 when the toilet seat 230 and the toilet lid 240 aresimultaneously pivoted in the lowering direction, the first viscousresistance mechanism 300 receives no overload.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described abovebut it is also possible for it to be embodied in various modes withinits scope, including the following variations

(1) The support mechanism 250 is located on the side of the casing mainbody 214 and the support receiving mechanism 290 is located on the sideof the toilet seat 230 and the toilet lid 240 in the embodimentdescribed above but, not limited to this, the locations may be viceversa.

(2) The lock engagement element 322 is constructed as a part separatefrom the fixed projection 270, but it may be unified with the fixedprojection as a single body so that the operation of the unlock button324 allows the whole fixed projection 270 is to be movable over theslide support base 262.

(3) Moreover, the lock engagement element 322 is advanced and retractedto engage with and disengage from the side of the toilet seat 230, butnot limited to this but, as FIGS. 21 and 22 show, a slide support base262B and a fixed projection 270B as a whole or the slide support base262B alone may be interlocked with the unlock button 324 to engage withand disengage from the side of the toilet seat 230 so that the pivotalsupport and locking of the toilet seat 230 are carried outsimultaneously.

What is claimed is:
 1. A support structure for a toilet cover unit, saidsupport structure is secured to a casing main body that is, in turn,secured to a toilet bowl main body, comprising:a pivotal supportcomponent (70) located at a first end part of said casing main body; arotational-force resistance means (86) which applies, in linkage withsaid pivotal support component, a resistant force to a pivotal movementin a lowering direction of said toilet cover unit, a support receivingpart (132) coupled to said toilet cover unit, which engages with saidpivotal support component so as to apply said resistant force to saidtoilet cover unit, said support receiving part being capable of beingengaged with and disengaged from said pivotal support component whensaid toilet cover unit is positioned at a prescribed angle relative tosaid toilet bowl main body; and a hinge arrangement (65,120) whichpivotably connects said toilet cover unit to said casing main body, saidhinge arrangement being constructed so that said toilet cover unit canbe attached to and detached from said main body at said prescribedangle, said hinge arrangement comprising a support component (65) and asupporting tube part (122), wherein said supporting tube part issupported by and capable of sliding over rounded surfaces of saidsupport component, and where a cutaway part (124) is formed in a part ofsaid supporting tube part through which said toilet cover unit isdetachable from said support component when said toilet cover unit ispositioned at said prescribed angle.
 2. A support structure for a toiletcover unit claimed in claim 1, which comprises a lock mechanism whichhas a lock engagement part, which prevents said toilet cover unit frombeing detached from said support main body, while located between saidtoilet cover unit and said support main body, and a lock operation part,which releases said lock engagement part from said engaged state.
 3. Asupport structure for a toilet cover unit claimed in claim 2, in whichsaid lock operation part is located at a place at which manual operationis possible from said outside when said toilet cover unit is positionedat said prescribed angle and which is hidden behind said toilet coverunit when said toilet cover unit is not positioned at said prescribedangle.
 4. A support structure for a toilet cover unit claimed in claim3, in which said prescribed angle is approximately 90 degrees.
 5. Asupport structure for a toilet cover unit claimed in claim 4, in whichsaid toilet seat and said toilet lid are constructed so as to bepivotably linked to each other.
 6. A support structure for a toiletcover unit claimed in claim 1, in which said pivotal support componentand said rotational-force resistance means comprise a first resistantsupport means which pivotably supports said toilet seat to said supportmain body and a second resistant support means which pivotably supportssaid toilet lid to said toilet seat and is arranged on said same shaftcore as said first resistance support means.
 7. A support structure fora toilet cover unit claimed in claim 6, in which said resistance forcesof said first and second resistance support means are set so that saidtoilet lid pivoting speed generated by said resistant force of saidsecond resistant support means is slower than said toilet seat pivotingspeed generated by said resistant force of said first resistant supportmeans.
 8. A support structure for a toilet cover unit claimed in claim3, in which said rotational-force resistance means comprises at leastone spring which increases said resistant force by pivotal movement ofsaid toilet cover unit in said lowering direction and in which saidresistant force is stored in said at least one spring where said toiletcover unit is fully lowered to said toilet bowl main body.
 9. A toiletapparatus comprising a support main body secured to an upper end of atoilet bowl, a toilet cover plate which covers an upper portion of saidtoilet bowl, a hinge arrangement positioned between said support mainbody and said toilet cover plate which pivotably supports said toiletcover plate, said hinge arrangement comprising:a rotational forceresistance means attached to said support main body for generating aresistance force; and an engagement/disengagement unit disposed betweensaid rotational force resistance means and said toilet cover plate,wherein said engagement/disengagement unit pivotably supports saidtoilet cover plate in such a way that said resistance force generated bysaid rotational force resistance means is transferred to said toiletcover plate responsive to a pivotal movement in a lowering direction ofsaid toilet cover plate, said engagement/disengagement unit permitsdisengagement of said toilet cover plate from said support main bodyonly when said toilet cover plate is positioned at a prescribed anglerelative to said toilet bowl.
 10. A toilet apparatus in accordance withclaim 9, wherein said hinge arrangement further includes a support meanspositioned on an outer surface of said engagement/disengagement unit,said support means rotatably supports said toilet cover plate, saidsupport means is also capable of disengaging said toilet cover platefrom said support main body at said prescribed angle.
 11. A toiletapparatus in accordance with claim 9, in which said prescribed angle isapproximately 90 degrees.
 12. A toilet apparatus in accordance withclaim 9, in which said rotational-force resistance means includes atleast one spring which increases said resistant force by pivotalmovement of said toilet cover plate in said lowering direction and inwhich said resistant force is stored in said at least one spring wheresaid toilet cover plate is fully lowered to said upper portion of saidtoilet bowl.
 13. A toilet apparatus in accordance with claim 9, whereinsaid hinge arrangement comprises a support means positioned on an outerportion of said engagement/disengagement unit, said support meansrotatably supports said toilet cover plate, said support means alsobeing adaptable to disengage said toilet cover plate from said supportmain body at said prescribed angle.